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Blood Shields
The Blood Shields The Blood Shields are a young loyalist Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes operating in the Ghoul Stars. Created during the 25th founding as a support measure to conquer and defend the Anteras and its neighbouring Systems from the boarding Orkish empires. The First Crusade The first active campaign the Blood Shields would take part in would be the conquering of their future recruiting worlds and future territory. This crusade, comprised of the forces of the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, Imperial Knights and the Blood Shields Adeptus Astartes Chapter, would be lead against the Empire of the Warboss Ironshredda, who saw the twins as the jewels of his empire making them the best defended. Following a series of bloody space battles and ground invasions the combined forces of the crusade started sieging the twins. During battles on the worlds the Warboss would always appear on the battlefield when fighting became hardest. This came as a great surprise to the Blood Shields who reported spotting Ironshredda meryl hours of one another though being the a different planet as no ships between the twins were found. This would baffle the forces of the Empire until the end of sieges. After storming the Lair of Ironshredda and his death at the hands of the Chapter Master Fularo Daros they found the answer. The two worlds of Anteras Alpha and Beta were connected through a old Relict, long forgotten technology stemming from the dark age of technology or even beyond, resembling a Gate allowing the User to jump from one Planet to the other. Having rigged both Gates in order to deny this piece of technology and trying to use it to kill his assailants he blew them up shortly before Fularo Daros ripped the Warbosses body apart. After the death of Ironshredda the remaining greenskins fell into disaray and the securing of the Orkish systems the rest of Ironshredda Empire split into different factions following infighting as every Orc tried to fill the power vacuum left by Ironshredda death. This first victory had proven the skill and determination of the Blood Shields Chapter. Though set back the orks never sized to raid the worlds under the Chapters protection and both sides would continue to struggle for complete control. As the list of atrocities grew, battles against the greenskins became routine and the death of Battle Brothers became common the hatred burning inside the Astartes for their Xenos foes became ever deeper. As such close combat, a trademark of the Orkish warfare, was discouraged, as it was seen as brutish and uncivilised not worthy of a warrior being a son of the emperor of mankind. Instead to chose to focused their entiere combat training on marksmanship and defensive tactics fighting with a cold and efficient grace. The Day of the Green Tide Once every five standard terran years the citizens of the Twins celebrate the liberation of the orkish rule and celebrate their liberators and defenders, the Blood Shields. This day of celebration would be remembered as the Day of the Green Tide, the most destructive event in the entire history of the Chapter till this day. After this the Chapter will have lost about 90% of the existing battle brothers, including the Chapter Master and the elite guard, known as the "Shield Bearers". The Ork Warboss Gloomslashah, known as also as Backstabba, was a strategic genius and stealth expert, compared to the typical greenskin, who united the warring empires under his rule in astounding speed abusing the aggressive nature of his fellow orks to sow distrust and start infighting using a divide-and-conquer approach. After his unification of the other empires his gaze turned on the space controlled by the Blood Shields seeking a worthy fight. Splitting his massive horde into smaller forces he started a multi-pronged attack causing the Blood Shields to reinforce these fronts leaving minimal reserves for the unexpected main attack of Backstabba. Breaking almost undetected through the remaining defences Gloomslashah’s fleet laid siege to the Anteras System, to the great dismay of the Chapter Master Fularo Daros and the remaining Astartes. Recalling all expendable Forces to their Fortress-Monastery, “The Bulwark”, Fularo Daros sent his forces to fortify Anteras Alpha and Beta and dug in at the Bulwark with his token force. Orkish ships covered the skies of the Twins and the Hives streets turned green, filled with Orkish bodies and red by the spilled blood of humans and Orks alike. The Blood Shields supported by the defence forces made a strong stand against the green tide killing thousands for mere meters of ground and losing few in return. Still this tactic of attrition would take tolls on the Forces of the empire as they were severely outnumbered and undersupplied. After days of bitter fighting in the Hive Cities and at the Bulwark many of the recalled forces arrived to relive and reinforce the trapped Blood Shields. Thus easing the pressure, though Fularo Daros knew that he and his Chapter could not defeat Gloomslashah’s Hordes while being scattered across the Anteras System and as such needing to pull all forces back to the Bulwark breaking the spearhead of the Orks there, thus dooming the Twins. This was no option for Fularo Daros as this would mean he and his chapter would fail their mission given to them by the adeptus terra and by proxy their God, the Emperor. Determined to stop the invasion at all costs Fularo Daros gathered his elite guard, “The Shield Bearers” and explaining his plan of attack. Doning Terminator Armour and equipping the holy Relics Fularo Daros took aside the youngest of his Elite Guard and second in Command Issariam Sare instructing him to stay and command the Blood Shields in his stead. Using a short range Transporter, installed on the Bulwark, Fularo Daros and his Shield Bearers teleported onto Gloomslashah’s Ship, scattering along the way, with the goal to overload or rigg the ships generators and subsequently destroying it thus cutting of the head of the horde and hoping that this would cause enough confusion and fear in the greenskins to force them to retreat. Battling through the bowls of the ship Fularo Daros found most of his retinue slaughtered, only a handful having survived. Filled with rage they pressed on spraying bolter rounds ripping apart bodies left and right. Hiding near the generator room Gloomslashah was waiting. As the incoming Space Marines broke open the doors to the generator Room Gloomslashah, true to his nickname, attacked the Blood Shields from behind killing the Chapter Masters retinue in a matter of seconds. Though beating each other bloody nether opponents could get the upper hand. Fularo Daros deliberately dropped his guard so Gloomslashah could stab him. Grabbing the Warboss Fularo Daros lit the fuse of the explosives he carried and threw them into the ships generators. The following explosion ripped the Warboss and the generators appart causing a chain reaction that created a fireball that consumed the main Orkish vessel and nearby ships. This destruction would ripple through the combined consciousness of the invading greenskins. This lead the remaining Orkish captains to retreat while the greenskins trapped on the planets fell into disarray fleeing the hive cities, being killed by the defenders or other orks trying to establish themselves as leaders and thus regaining some sort of organisation. Thus the invasion was ultimately defeated and the remaining splinter hordes would get cleaned up in the following weeks. Rebirth After the destruction brought by the surprise attack during the Day of the Emperor's Favor, now remembered as the Day of the Green Tide, the Blood Shields Chapter was in shambles. Having lost about 90% of their Battle Brothers, massive amounts equipment, supporting forces and their territories, especially their recruiting worlds, were ravaged by war. In addition their old Chapter Master and his elite guards, the Shield Bearers, had sacrificed themselves in order to stop Gloomslashah invasion. Now the new Chapter Master Issariam Sare had the demanding task of rebuilding the Blood Shields Chapter to their former strength and glory while also defending his subjects against the constant raids and the always looming threat of an Orkish invasion and. As this was impossible to manage on their own, the Blood Shields called for the help of allied chapters, most importantly the Ultramarines their parent chapter. In the interest of speeding up the process of replenishing their numbers the Blood Shields used every Planet in their domain for recruiting new Neophytes. This measure would allow the Blood Shields chapter to grow back to their full strength in a reasonable amount of time. This mixture of origin would lead to conflicts and rivalries, sparked by cultural differences especially during the time of Rebirth of which some would still exist to this day. A new Way Being haunted by nightmares of the Day of the green tide the new Chapter Master Issariam Sare, also known as the Son of Anteras, swore to himself that no one would ever die due to being surprised, ergo a lack of information. Making the phrase “Knowledge is Power” his personal motto Issariam Sare used the time of Rebirth to implement changes to the internal structures of the Chapter. For instance engraving his motto into the Bolter of the Chapter Master, the last Relict of their gene sire after the destruction of Gloomslashah’s Ship. Additionally he taught the new Astartes a rational and cold driven approach to war. This approach would seep even deeper into the Chapters Culture and Battle Doctrine. Not only did he teach the new Brothers the merits of collection Data and the true value of information, as it was the most powerful weapon in their Arsenal. Issariam Sare also urged every Battle Brother to use his Omophagea, also known as the Remembrancer, as frequently as possible in order to get a advantage over their foes. The Omophagea allowed the collection of memories of the dead by simply eating them. This high value put on information lead the Blood Shields to becoming more and more secretive and guarding every detail about their chapter, like their inner structures and traditions or military movements, with zelous seal bordering a paranoia. This lead to the Blood Shields growing distant and estranged to other chapters, even their parent chapter the Ultramarines. As the Dark Slumber, a genetic flaw affecting the Omophagea, would increasingly afflict more and more Astartes, this secrecy became an official order from Chapter Master Issariam Sare in order to protect his Chapter from cleansing. This lead to the Blood Shields cutting all ties with almost every outside force, except the Guard regiments and Navy Fleets of their planetary systems, and furthered their distrust of the inquisition. There was only two organisations that the Blood Shields still respected. On the one hand was the ecclesiarchy as the mouthpiece and proxy of the God-Emperor. On the other hand was the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos. Serving the Deathwatch was seen as the highest honor of every Blood Shield as it was their task to eliminate the Xenos threat. A goal the Blood Shields shared as it was their underlying task given to them by their God and Emperor. In order to achieve this goal information on the enemy needed to be gather. This would lead to the use of the Omophagea which would mean the Blood Shields would absorb the flesh of the Orks, their object of their deepest hatred, on a regular basis. Issariam Sare introduced a Ritual of Cleansing known as “Praying for the Emperor's Forgiveness” in order to keep the minds and bodies of the Battle Brothers clean. During the Ritual a Marine would drink a detergent drink, created by mixing different healing plants found on the Twins, blessed by a member of the Ecclesiarchy. After this he would clean his body with sacred oils and would recite the Lectitio Divinitatus. Following this the oils would be set aflame causing his flesh to be burned. Their superhuman bodies would regenerate and the Battle Brother would be cleansed. Many of the Battle Brothers would additionally mark their bodies with protective Runes and religious Symbols. This deep religious belief in the emperor's divinity would become a essential part of the Blood Shields Chapter. Issariam Sare, compared to his predecessor, believed that actively bringing war to the greenskins was a significant portion of the task given to them by the God Emperor through the Adeptus Terra. As such Issariam Sare formed an special scout and attack fleet, resembling the Expedition fleets of the great crusade though in a much smaller scale. Using the Strike Cruiser “The Blood of Guilliman” and other support vessels ready to bring the fury of the Emperor upon the greenskins. Unknown to most of the Battle Brothers making up the Expedition fleet Issariam Sare had a another goal in mind. Not only did he want intel on the movements and developments in the different ork empires but they should also recover lost technologies. The Bliss of Ignorance and the Dangers of Knowledge During one of the expeditions of the “Blood of Guilliman” into a uncharted region of one of the smaller ork empires the Fleet came across the deathworld of Pentorium IV. Captain Liciullian, following his inofficials orders from Chapter Master Issariam Sare, ordered his forces to make orbit and drop to the surface. The target of Captain Liciullian was a small island on the planet's surface. This island was the only landmass that was exempt from the constant storms that plagued the rest of the planet. While securing the perimeter the Marines were greeted by a group of abhumans praising their arrival as foretold and offering them to reveal all their knowledge about the past, present and future. Entering the temple with his closest brothers Captain Liciullian left the rest of the Blood Shields to safeguard the temple. After spending two days within the depths of the temple Captain Liciullian left the halls forever changed. After calling the “Blood of Guilliman” and requesting a pickup he ordered his fellow brothers to eradicate the abhumans and take everything of value from the temple and bring it onboard. Continuing their expedition into the Ork infested space the crew of “Blood of Guilliman” found itself attracting more attention as during previous trips. From Greenskins attacking the Fleet relentlessly without ever retreating until the last attacker was dead and every Ship destroyed. To pirates seeking confrontations with the Astartes Chapter which they would normally avoid and even a fleet of Dark Eldar, a foe never encountered before, dared to attack the Blood Shields during their voyage. This constant pressure and continuous stream of skirmishes forced Captain Liciullian to end their journey prematurely and give orders to retreat to the Bulwark. During their return it seem the frequency of attack grew even more. As such Liciullian was faced with the decision of risking utter annihilation or throwing the relics, found on Pentorium IV, off board and hoping for a escape. With a heavy heart Captain Liciullian ordered his men to throw out all relics and scriptures. This, as hoped, allowed the “Blood of Guilliman” to escape hostile space and get back to their safehave at the Bulwark, broken but alive. During this voyage Captain Liciullian had shared the knowledge, hidden inside the scrolls and relics, with his crew and would go on to spread the words among the rest his fellow Astartes. Though first of all with the Chapter Master Issariam Sare, directly after arriving at the Bulwark. Issariam Sare tough inquisitive in nature always stayed suspicious of the knowledge he and his chapter gained, especially concerning the findings of the Expedition fleet. On the surface Issariam Sare was thankful for this new information and congratulated Captain Liciullian on his findings and acting the way he did in order to save the “Blood of Guilliman”. Yet in secret he kept a close eye on the Captain and his men as he suspected a possible corruption through the Ruinous Powers. Secrecy had become a mantra among all Astartes of the Blood Shield Chapter and it was common to hide information even from their brothers. Still there was no man within the Chapter who could hide his secrets from Issariam Sare. As Chapter Master and instigator of the new Chapter Doctrines Issariam Sare knew of every step taken and every word spoken within or without the bulwark. Staying vigilant and listening for some time it became clearer and clearer to him that some of his Brothers had become corrupted by Chaos and that Captain Liciullian was a the head and seeder of this taint. Identifying one corrupted Battle Brother after the other Issariam Sare created a plan to eradicate these heretics and in addition use their demise to his Chapters advantage. He fabricating hints pointing to the rise of a new Warboss that would follow in the vein of Gloomslashah and as such could soon unite the other ork empires under his rule thereby becoming a gigantic threat to the Blood Shields and their subjects. Using the Chapters fear of another cataclysmic event such as Day of the Green Tide he took both the “Blood of Guilliman” and “The Shield of Anteras” grouping together those Space Marines, who he knew were corrupted by Chaos, into battle groups. Penetrating the hostile space they reached the center of the biggest ork empire ruled by Iskruzz Slaystompah. Issariam Sare ordered the Blood Shields to use Drop Pods landing in a plain field near the Warbosses location. There they should gather, establish a perimeter and then move towards Slaystompah’s lair as one block bringing the Emperor's fury upon their foes. Tampering with the Strike Cruisers systems the drop pods of the corrupted Blood Shields would scatter and miss the planned coordinates and instead land directly in the main base of Slaystompah. While the Chapter Master gathered his loyal forces around him, urging them to make haste towards their scattered Brothers the tainted Astartes were fighting tooth and nail for survival as every greenskin would throw himself against the wall of warriors clad in power armour. Still determined to neutralize the threat posed by this new Warboss and unwilling to wait for reinforcements, as foreseen by Issariam Sare, Captain Liciullian and his elite forces fought themselves through the hordes of greeskins using the gifts they had received from their new God and Master Tzeentch. He managed to penetrate Slaystompah’s lair, though only after losing all his men, he finally stood before the huge Ork called Slaystompah. Meanwhile Chapter Master Issariam Sare and his loyal forces reached the warbosses lair only to find the corrupted Blood Shields slaughtered. Following in the footsteps of Captain Liciullian Issariam Sare lead his personal guard “The Shieldbearers” deep into the warbosses lair. Entering Slaystompah’s throne room they found a bizarre artwork of flesh, blood and entrails. The wounded captain rested on the mutilated corpse of the warboss bleeding from many wounds. Revealing his secret plan to the Captain, Liciullian could only laud the skill of deception Issariam Sare. Still the last words the Captain would usher were threats and curses before the Chapter Master would put a round into his head. Thus the corruption was cleansed before taking to deep a root. The Dark Slumber Within the Gene Seed of the Blood Shields Chapter there lies a deficiency of the Omophagea carefully hidden of all outsiders. Known as the “Dark Slumber” the afflicted Battle Brother falls into a comatose state while living through the memories and lives of the beings he consumed. After waking up from the Dark Sleep the afflicted is confused and has lost all his memories. Depending on the Brother in question regaining memories can take up from two standard weeks to one standard month following the first sleeping phase. After this the afflicted Blood Shield will now be doomed to fall asleep and waking up again being able to regain only parts of his memories. This would occur until he could never remember at all and would be completely confused. This would often lead to turning violent against his Brothers or the Chapters servants. Due to the frequent use of the Omophagea the Dark Slumber has become a constant threat to every Member of the Blood Shields. The Bloodsoaked The inflicted Astartes or “Sleepers” are grouped into a special Battle Group, called “The Bloodsoaked”, who are where the fighting is thickest in the hopes of dying in battle before losing themselves within the dark dreams. These Astartes often use melee Weapons in order to lose themselves in a red fog of rage and mayhem. Thus the Bloodsoaked function as the main assault force and are often sent on suicide missions. Combat Doctrine The Blood Shields focus their combat training on marksmanship, preferring ranged combat and often using defensive tactics. This reliance on defensive combat stems from the fact that their primary tasks is to protect the systems in their domain from external threats. Recruiting The main recruiting worlds for the Blood Shields Chapter are the Hive Worlds Anteras Alpha and Beta, also called the Twins. Within the lower levels of these gigantic cities many street gangs roam the streets fighting a constant battle of survival. This hostile environment is the perfect breeding ground for future warriors of the Blood Shields Chapter. In order to prove their abilities the recruits must complete a series of tasks during the Trial of Blood. For this trial the Blood Shields, with the help of the Iron Warriors, built a labyrinth within the halls of the bulwark. The Trial tests accuracy, intellect and combat prowess containing many traps and tasks within the labyrinth. At the end the recruit finds a Battle Brother guarding the exit. As such the recruit needs to avoid the Astartes and escape and a such prove himself. Some extraordinary specimen have even beaten the Guardian. Those would go on to perform many great deeds. One of them was the now Chapter Master Issariam Sare. Arsenal and Appearance Through the enormous industrial capacity of the Twins a constant stream of supplies is secured. This makes the use of more exotic weapons like melta guns possible though this use reserved only for very select members of the Blood Shields Chapter. The main part of the Blood Shields Chapter use their personal bolter given to them at the day of their acceptance into the Chapter where their name is inscribed on their weapon. In addition the Chapters Insignia is burned in the palm of their shooting hand and under the main eye in order to bless the Astartes. Furthermore many Battle Brothers mark their flesh with religious symbols, the Imperial Aquila or sacred images and words from their worlds of origin. During the time of the Rebirth many Neophytes were recruited from planets besides the normal recruiting worlds of Anteras Alpha and Beta. Thus the Blood Shields Chapter is quite diverse depending skin color, shapes of faces and dialects. Fortress-Monastery In order to keep watch on both Anteras Alpha and Beta simultaneously the Fortress-Monastery, called “The Bulwark”, was erected in Space in the Form of a Space Station that follows the rotation of the Twin Stars. Attached to the Station lie the two Strike Cruisers called “The Blood of Guilliman” and “The Shield of Anteras” in addition to smaller ships. Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:25th Founding